In October 2011 at the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris, Hublot took the world of watchmaking by surprise when it unveiled it's miniature homage to the obscure Antikythera mechanism. While undoubtedly a mechanical marvel and huge achievement for Hublot, Jean-Claude Biver stated that the Antikythera mechanism and the consequent watch concept that was shown in Basel would never be commercially available. Only four examples would ever be made; two are on display at the Musée des Arts et Métiers and the National Museum of Athens, one is in Hublot's own collection, and the final example will be sold at a special auction to be held in 2014.

One of the problems however with the original Antikythera mechanism was that it was far too complex for most of us (including me) to fully comprehend and appreciate. So this year, Hublot decided to create a simplified version of the Antikythera mechanism, with less complications than the original mechanism (295 components and 7 complications vs. 495 components and 14 functions), allowing the entire movement to be rendered small enough to fit into a wearable watch case.

The Antikythera SunMoon displays both solar and lunar calendars, as well as the position of the sun and moon in the night sky. Better than a traditional moonphase, the Antikythera Sun Moon shows the shape of the moon in the sky,
the name of the constellation behind the Moon, as well as the time required for the Moon to pass through a constellation. The watch also shows the constellation located behind the Sun and the time required for the Sun to pass through a constellation

The movement is manually wound with 120 hours of power reserve. It is fitted with a flying tourbillon, and is set by two separate crowns; one at 3 o'clock for winding and time-setting and 9 o'clock for the sun and moon calendars.

I believe Hublot did a fantastic job in making use of all the R&D and hard work they put into the original Antikythera mechanism, and in turning it into a more easily comprehensible watch; though it is still by no means simple. The case is a departure from what we're used to from Hublot, but in my opinion works very well against the circular movement and is still distintively Hublot with it's sandwich construction and screws. I'm still fascinated by how the ancient Greeks managed to so accurately calculate the movement of celestial bodies and actually build a machine which precisely follows these movements. Wearing this piece felt like some form of homage to the wisdom of our ancestors, and oh how wise they were...